I want to move my pension/RRSPs.

[03ozwhip]

I know nothing about investing but what I do know is that what I have in my RBC RRSPs seems to be a downward spiral.

I've lost 2k in a week and I don't know on what or where. I have a feeling RBC isn't the best place to have these things. I don't contribute to these at all, I have other ones I contribute to, but am I just being a worrier or should I talk to someone else and have my stuff moved.

Thanks for helping out an investment idiot.
03ozwhip

[eblend]

Couple of ways to think about this:

1. Markets will always have ups and downs, idea is to buy low, sell high. Most people are scared when market is crashing, but that's an excellent buying opportunity, as you are buying "low", from people who sell low, which would basically be you in this situation. My mom lost something like 40k in 2008 and panicked and sold everything....losing 40k, which she could have gained back if she just left it.

2. You can easily move your RRSP to anywhere you want. You open a new account, and initiate the transfer from the new company, who will reach out to RBC and transfer the funds.

I think most banks are a terrible place to keep your money nowadays, as they usually have legacy products and crazy commission fees. Nowadays many people who want to be hand-off on their investments use ETFs, which are basically a collection of stocks, with low management fees, built in diversification ect. There are many different types of ETFs, so I suggest you research into this.

I personally use Questrade, it's an online platform for trading. I have my RRSP, LIRA, TFSA whatever accounts in there, and then you can keep it as cash (no interest earned at all), or buy individual stocks, or ETFs, or GICs ect. Simplest thing is ETFs, and that's what bulk of my investments are.

I don't follow the market daily, that will drive you nuts, but generally speaking, over the long run, you should be making money. If you watch it daily you will just stress out for no reason.

I am no investment guru, but know enough to get started. I am sure there are smarter guy here on this and will pipe in. If you end up with questrade, you can use my referral code and give me and you some benefit (i think it's like $50 or something)

[Pacman]

Without knowing what you are investing in with RBC, it's hard to say what's going on. From what you are describing about your current involvement in your investments, it might not be a bad idea to move your money into some ETF's like XGRO (or VGRO) and then assess what you want to do. I know a lot of people who have pulled a portion of their money from their advisors and are doing the same and comparing performance. So far, it seems like the ETF's are wining out vs paying fee's to an advisor but more time will tell a better story.

[03ozwhip]

I mean this money has been growing for over 10 years but very marginally. I don't take the time to look and talk to the bank about where my investments are and why it's been so volatile as of late.

I just feel like over 10 years I should have seen way more growth, but again, I haven't taken the time to really dig into this.

[eblend]

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I mean this money has been growing for over 10 years but very marginally. I don't take the time to look and talk to the bank about where my investments are and why it's been so volatile as of late.

I just feel like over 10 years I should have seen way more growth, but again, I haven't taken the time to really dig into this.

Do you know what kind of RRSP it's setup with? Do you have some mutual funds or something in there? It's also possible to have a CASH RRSP account...where you just get interest (which is pathetic with big banks)..but that's low risk, no risk of loss type of situation, but since you lost money, sound like it's through some kind of an investment. Problem with banks is that if you made 3% on your investments over 20 years....if their management fees are 2.5%.....then you make only 0.5%. Management fees can be a killer, and they get charged regardless, win or lose.

[ExtraSlow]

Location of RRSP is less important than what you invest 8n at that location.

That being said, it's also simple to transfer it over to wherever has the rest of your money. Especially if you feel you are happier there. No need to keep it separate.

[riander5]

Really good book to read on the subject. If you don't know much about investing, its perfect. Synopsis: Invest in S&P500 low management fee index funds. Get rid of management fees. S&P500 is a self optimizing instrument. Yatta yatta.



Oh, and yeah its easy to pull your RRSP and move it to a self investing RRSP. Just set one up at your bank.

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I mean this money has been growing for over 10 years but very marginally. I don't take the time to look and talk to the bank about where my investments are and why it's been so volatile as of late.

I just feel like over 10 years I should have seen way more growth, but again, I haven't taken the time to really dig into this.

Last 10 years you should have seen wicked growth. Unless your mutual funds are in the Japanese market haha....

[ExtraSlow]

The place you are moving money into can help with the transfer.

[S-FLY]

Understanding what you're invested in is probably the first step in helping explain the ups and downs. As a start, I'd recommend just pulling a portfolio summary on that particular account from last month to this month and see where it went wrong.

[asp integra]

Can you log in and see what products you are invested in? Tickers, etc?
If it's mutual funds, the fees are probably in the 2% range which will eat away at any gains, there are so many better options these days

[Swank]

If you want a person who speaks finance/investments that you can talk to I will share contact info. No grease involved.

[88CRX]

Move all your RBC RRSP's into ETF's. You can do that via RBC Direct Invest or any of the online investment websites.

Then put it all into XGRO or VGRO.

Then continue your regularly scheduled contributions.

And never look at the current cost. Just buy on your schedule.

This will significantly outperform any mutual fund or whatever RRSP RBC has you invested in.